Car-control system.



P. J. McGOWANfl; R. J. DIKEMAN. CAR CONTROL SYSTEM.

APPLICATION FILED oc.2. 1914.

1,183,995. Patented May 23,1916.

Q? F- R?- g mvawtozs UNITED STATd PAENT OFFICE PETER J. MGGOWAN ANDRALPH J. BIKE-MAN, 0]? NEW YORK, N. Y.

CAR-CONTROL SYSTEZVL 1,183,995 Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed December 2, 1914.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, PETER J. McGowan and RALPH J. DIKEMAN, citizens ofthe United States, and residents of New York, borough of Brooklyn,county of Kings, and State of New York, and of New York, in the countyof Bronx and State of New York, have invented certain new and usefulimprovements in Car- Control Systems, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention relates to car control systerns.

In electric street car systems in which the cars run singly, it oftenhappens that a car becomes disabled through failure of the motor or theburning out of the controller or some other point of the motor circuit.it becomes necessary, therefore, for the following car to push thedisabled car from behind. This is dangerous because the motorman has tostand on the rear car and control the motor and bra-kc in accordancewith the signal of a person standing on the front platform of thedisabled car. Often it is necessary to stop the car quickly and thedelay in the transmission of the signal is sufficient to cause anaccident. Also it may happen that a car is disabled when going up a verysteep grade, and it is necessary for two cars to assist in shoving thedisabled carup the hill. This hitherto has required two separate signalsto the motorrnan on the two rear cars from the person on the frontplatform of the disabled car before the train of cars can be stopped.

The present invention has for its primary object to provide meanswhereby the motorrnan standing on the front platform of .the disabledcar may control theinotor circuit of the rear car, so that the stoppingand starting of both cars is controlled directly by the motormanstanding on the front platform of the disabled car.

A further object is to provide means of this character which can be usedfor con trolling a number of cars running in train rcarwardly of thedisabled cur. v

A still further object is to provide means of this character which maybe installed at very low cost on existing types of cars.

The various further objects and advantages will more fully appear fromthe detailed description and the features of novelty will beparticularly pointed out in the claims.

Fatented May 23, 1916.

Serial No. 875,203.

In the drawing, the figure is a diagram of the improved control systemshown as applied to two cars coupled together.

dieferring in detail to the drawings, the disabled car 10 is shown asbeing driven in the direction of the arrow from behind by the good car11. In the ordinary cars new 1n use, the motorman would in this eventstand upon the front platform 12 of the rear car 11 and would start andstop his car in accordance with the signal of the conductor or otherperson standing on the front platform 13 of the disabled car 10.According to the present invention, however, the {110* torinan standingon the front platform 13 of the disabled car directly controls the motorcircuit of the rear car and also controls the operation of the brakes onhis own car. The control of the motor circuit is obtained as follows: j

In the motor circuit 14 which is normally controlled by the controllers15 and '16 located on the front nd rear platforms of the car, is acontactor 17. @n many cars now 15 use, this contactor is alreadyinstalled in connection with the operation of the sliding doors by themotorman, and in such case, it could be utilized and our improved systemapplied thereto. This contactor consists of a plunger 18 actuated by acoil 19 connected on one side by a wire 20 to a contact 21 on thecontroller and on the other side by a wire 22 to one of two parallelwires 23 and 2% running the length of the car. We have shown theconnection as being with the wire a3, while the wire 24 is shown asgrounded,

or the latter wire may instead be connected V with the oppos te pole ofthe motor circuit,

iircase a retuifi wire instead of the ground return is used in thesystem.

In order for any of the controllers to. operate to complete the circuitto the motor, it is necessary that the contactor 17 should be raised, sowhen the controller handie is moved to its first notch, it completes themagnet circuit through contact 21, wire 20, coil. and wire 23, and itisnecessary merely to bridge the gap between wires 23 and 24 to furthercomplete the circuit to the opposite pole of the power circuit. To closethis gap between the wires and 24, we provide wiring 25 and 26 connectedrespectively to the wires 23 and 24 which are electrically connected anddisconnected by switches 2? and located respectively adjacent thecontrollers 15 and 16 within easy reach of the motorman. Thus, wheneverthe motorman desires to render the coil 19 operative to actuate theeontactor upon the operation of the controller, he closes the switch 27or the switch 28. Now, the wires 23 and 24 which as has been previouslyexplained run the length of the car, may be coupled by flexibleconnectors 29, to the wires 23 and 24 of an adjacent car. In case thecar is disabled and is to be driven by the car 11 from behind, it ismerely necessary to open the switch 28 of the disabled car and theswitches 27 and 28 of the driving car, corresponding respectively toswitches 27 and 28 of the disabled car. The motorman standing on theplatform 13 of the disabled car will thus by opening and closing theswitch 27 control the motor circuit of the driving car, as will beobvious when it is borne in mind that the driving car has connectionsand wiring similar to that described for the disabled car 10, and thusthe control of the circuit between wires 23 and 2 1* from the disabledcar operates the contactor 17 of the driving car.

It will be necessary, of course, for the 'motorman of the car 11 tostand upon the platform 12 and to operate his controller but thiscontroller 15 is rendered op erative or inoperative at will by themotorman of the disabled car standing on the platform 13 operating theswitch 27. When the conductor signals to go ahead, the motorman of thedisabled car closes the switch 27 whereupon the motorman of the drivingcar operates his controller tobring the motor up to speed. WVhenever themotorman of the disabled ear finds it necessary for any reason to stopthe cars, he opens the switch 27 and the circuit is immediately openedby the contacton' The motorman on the rear car immediately throws hiscon-- troller to ofl"-position and does not turn it on again until theconductor has given his tion to controlling the motor circuit of thedriving car, it is desirableior the motor-man of the disabled car toapply his own brakes. For this purpose, the air tank 30 of each car isprovided with pipes 31 running the length of the car which may becoupled to each other by the flexible pipe coupling 32.

' The valves 33 in the pipes 31 may be opened whenever the two sets ofpipes 31 of two cars are coupled together. In this way, the air pressurefrom the tank 30 of the rear car is admitted into the tank 30 of theforward car and the brakes on the forward car could then be operated bythe pressure thus secured. The air compressor on the rear car may haveto do double duty in this case, but it is capable of performing this inemergencies.

It will be readily seen that the motorman of the disabled car maycontrol any number of cars in the same manner above described which arecoupled together by the connections above described. Thus, in case a carshould be disabled before a steep grade, two cars can be utilized inpushing the disabled car up the grade and all the threecars may for thecontaetor, means for connecting said actuating means with a car inadvance of the first car, and means on the forward car for setting theactuating means into operative and inoperative relation.

2. In a car control system, the combination with the motor circuit of acar, a controller therefor, a contactor in series therewith, anelectro-magnet for actuating the contactor, wiring from saidelectro-magnet to a source of'current, a forward car in advance of thefirst mentioned or rear car, wiring in said forward car which may becoupled to connectors running from the wiring of the magnet, and meansfor opening and closing the circuit in the wiring of the forward car bythe motorman of the forward car, whereby the magnet for the contactor onthe rear car is set into operative and inoperative position by themotorman of the forward car.

3. In a car control system, the combination with a motor circuit, acontroller, a contactor in series with the controller, an electro-magnetfor operating the contactor, wiring for connecting said magnet with asource of current, wiring running to the front and rear platforms of thecar for completing the magnet circuit independently of the controller,switches insaid last mentioned wiring, said switches being located in aconvenient position for the motorman on the front and rear platforms,connections from the magnet circuit adapted to be coupled to anadjoining car, wiring on said adjoining car connected to the first carby the coupling, and a switch in the last mentioned wiring located atthe front platform of the last mentioned or forward car whereby themotorman on the forward car may control the operation of the magnet ofthe rear car.

4. In a car control system, the combination with a motor circuit, acontroller, a contactor in series with the controller, an electio-magnetfor operating the contactor, wiring for connecting said magnet with asource of current, wirin running to the front and rear platforms of thecar for completing the magnet circuit independently of the controller,switches in said last mentioned wiring, said switches being located inconvenient position for the motor-man on the front and rear platforms,connections from the magnet circuit adapted to be coupled an adjoiningcar, a forward or disabled car, wiring on said forward ear independentof the controller thereof connected to the coupling of the roar ear, anda switch in the last mentioned wiring disposed on the forward platformof the forward car whereby the motorman on the forward car controls theoperation of the contactor in the motor circuit of the rear car.

5. In a car control system, the combination with a motor circuit, meanslocated on means associated with the control circuit for connecting witha forward car, and means associated with the connection to the forwardcar whereby the controller on the rear car is rendered operative orinoperative by the motorman on the forward car.

6. In a car control system, the combination with a motor circuit, meanslocated on the car whereby the motorman controls the circuit from theplatform of the car, means associated with the control circuit forconnecting with a forward car, and means as sociated with the connectionto the forward car whereby the controller on the rear car is renderedoperative or inoperative by the lnotorinan from either end of theforward car.

Signed at New York city, in the county of New York, and State of NewYork, this QLt-h (lay of November, A. D. 1914:.

PETER J. MoGOWAN. RALPH J. DIKEMAN. Witnesses MAURICE LESSIN, WM. I.COHEN.-

